City pre-K student brings gun to school

Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun

A pre-kindergarten student at Northwood Elementary School in Baltimore brought a small gun to school Friday morning, according to school officials.

A teacher discovered the weapon and notified administrators who called the school police. School police arrested the mother of the 5-year-old boy, Vernetta Holson-Anderson, 37, of the 6900 block of Blanch Road, at Northwood Elementary, according to a police document. Holson-Anderson was charged with giving a minor access to a firearm, reckless endangerment and having a handgun on her and in a vehicle, the documents said.

School officials would not say whether the gun, described in a police document as a "very small" .22-caliber Derringer, was loaded.

The principal, Erita Adams, sent a letter home to parents informing them about the incident and asking them to review safety guidelines with their children. "I also urge you to monitor what your child brings to school, especially the contents of his or her book bag," Adams wrote.

State law requires school officials to suspend students who bring a gun to school. The school system would not release any other information about the incident.